* Tell us about your “other” hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc.

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Most of the time, I don’t have anything more exciting to do on a Saturday night (unless family is coming!) than look forward to doing the SNGF challenge that Randy Seaver posts for us at Genea-Musings.

But this past Saturday Night was special, it was my mom’s 98th birthday, and we gathered together as a family at her home to let her know how special we we think she is.

Hmmm, so what do I enjoy doing besides family history? A lot of what I enjoy doing is related to family history, so I’ll just make a random list of stuff I think is fun. And some of it falls within the family history spectrum, no doubt!

1. My Family – Spending time with my family, especially the tiny little apples of my eye, my granddaughters. This includes going to the parks, swinging on the swings, playing Uno, dominoes, Wa-hoo, and now Wii.

2. Reading. I love to read, and my children still complain that I can ignore them easily if I’m reading. But I get involved in a book, can visualize the setting, and I’m off to a new adventure, living vicariously. I’ve also been a fairly fast reader since I was a kid and the librarian used to let me check out 14 books at a time (since we lived in the country, and because I was a voracious reader). Librarians just love kids like that…

Jan Karon’s “Mitford Series” books are my all-time favorites. I like to read Max Lucado’s inspirational books, Nora Roberts romance/mystery novels, Louis L’Amour western novels, and various and sundry other “who-dun-it’s”. (I like them best if I can’t figure out ‘who-dun-it’ before I get to the end, too.)

3. Music. I love music. A variety of music, though rap not much at all, especially if it needs to be ‘bleeped’ on tv, and blues and classical not quite as much.

Gaither’s Gospel music is an all-time favorite, and brings peace to my heart and soul. Fifties and sixties rock brings back wonderful memories of sock hops and teen-age crushes. John Denver is one of my favorite artists and my husband took me to his concerts twice. “Take Me Home Country Roads” speaks to my country heart.

4. Fishing. I like to fish, though I seldom do. We practice the ‘catch and release’ so generally the fish is free to go back to his pursuits within minutes of being caught. And sometimes the little ones choose to be caught again…

5. Gardening. I like to dig in the dirt, plant, and watch flowers and vegetables grow.

I have a cherry tree, blackberry bushes, and am considering planting strawberries. I’d never have to pick them, because I never have to pick the cherries, the birds usually beat us to those, and my granddaughters pick the blackberries, coming in with purple lips!

6. Crafts & Sewing. I used to be a very ‘crafty’ lady. I was constantly doing cross-stitch, sewing something, or making something. I’ve kind of gotten away from that, spending that time working on the computer or writing. But I made one man’s suit and several shirts for my husband (polyester suit back in the day, but nice looking) quilt pillows, beaded Indian looking earrings, and before my children came along, a lot of my work clothes!

7. Photography. I love to take photos. Mostly of family, and a lot of the granddaughters, but I just like taking photos. Because I take so many, and do try to make each one good, out of hundreds I’ve had several real gems that captured the love between father and daughter, the magic of a child’s smile, and the memories contained within those photographs are priceless.

Those are some of the things I like to do. Someone else might add a few more things to my list, but these are what comes to mind ‘off the top of my head…’